Okay so opinions may differ on this but here is my list and reasons why I believe these were the best performances ever put on by a heavyweight in MMA, hope you guys enjoy it! 15. Frank Mir vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 1 . At UFC 92 Frank Mir provided us with by far his best performance ever against the already ageing warrior Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, while Nogueira was only 32 at the time and won the UFC interim World Heavyweight Championship off Tim Sylvia in his last fight he had slown down a lot compared to his Pride days and in this fight seemed more hittable than ever. Mir's boxing was completely on point as he couldn't miss Nogueira constantly tagging him with left crosses and uppercuts dropping him twice in the first round and finishing him in the second. Based on this performance Frank should have been expected to beat Lesnar in his next fight at UFC 100 but more to come on that one later. 14. Gabriel Gonzaga vs Mirko Cro Cop 1 . Gabriel Gonzaga was never able to reach the level of success that was expected after this win, at UFC 70 he provided MMA fans with the most ironic/iconic knockouts ever knocking out the best head kicker in MMA history with a.... HEAD KICK! The way Mirko hits the ground and his leg is bent is downright horrifying. BUT it wasn't like Gonzaga was losing before he landed it, he came forward with no fear on the feet against the man who a year before had won the 2006 Pride Heavyweight Gran Prix, proceeded to take him down and cut Mirko with elbows on the ground before referee Herb Dean stood them up. Cro Cop's aura was shattered after this fight and he was never the same again, Cro Cop was expected to win this and face Randy Couture but it just wasn't meant to be ending his career in the UFC with a disappointing 5-6 record. Gonzaga after this would face Couture and lose in an underrated fight and become a gatekeeper losing to future stars like Junior Dos Santos, Stipe Miocic, Derrick Lewis, Shane Carwin, Fabricio Werdum etc 13. Randy Couture vs Tim Sylvia . At UFC 68 Randy Couture put the performance of a lifetime on against 6'8 Tim Sylvia to be come a three time UFC World Heavyweight Champion. I believe prior to this Randy had actually sparred with Sylvia and was able to take him down at will which gave him plenty of confidence and it showed here as in the first ten seconds Couture knocked down Sylvia with a thunderous right cross and then taking his back for the entire round, the next four rounds was Randy taking Sylvia down at will and doing whatever he wanted, he was even beating him in the striking department which no one expected! The 5'11 222 pound 43 year old Randy Couture was on a completely different level to the 6'8 263 pound 32 year old Tim Sylvia that night and showed why he is one of the most loved UFC fighters of all time. 12. Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir 2 . At the time UFC 100 was the biggest event in UFC history and the main event featured Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir 2 to see whose the best heavyweight on the planet. Mir was coming off his amazing performance against Nogueira and Lesnar had beaten the 45 year old Randy Couture for the Championship. Now Lesnar never really reached his full potential as an MMA fighter due to a number of things such as going into pro wrestling, injuries and most of all the fact that he did not like being hit but that didn't matter this night as Lesnar was able to take Mir down and put him in a brutal looking neck crank position and repeatedly pound his face in for the entire first round and repeat this again in the second by putting Frank's arm behind his back and violently punching his face to the point the back of his head was smashing into the cage until it got stopped. Frank Mir didn't know what hit him this night and Lesnar put in a flawless performance that showed just how dangerous he could be. 11. Fabricio Werdum vs Cain Velasquez . At UFC 188 Fabricio made his case even stronger for being in the top 5 greatest Heavyweights ever in MMA history when he defeated Cain Velasquez for the UFC World Heavyweight Championship. Now Velasquez hadn't fought for nearly two years but that didn't stop people putting him as the heavy favourite over Werdum due to the fact that his last four performances were nothing short of amazing. But this night it looked like the lay off had caught up with him as no longer was there the cardio or pressure that Cain was known for as it was Werdum putting on the pressure on Cain and beating him with kicks, punches and knees causing him to bleed badly, no one had expected this and then in round three while completely gassed Cain went for a desperation takedown, the problem is Werdum doesn't care being taken down as he's probably the best BJJ artist in the history of the heavyweight division submitting the likes of Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, well Cain got added to the list that night as Werdum caught him in a guillotine as soon as they went to the ground making him tap. It looked like maybe Werdum would now be Champion for quite a while but the UFC Heavyweight Championship has always been passed around like hot potato and that's exactly what happened when Werdum met Stipe Miocic in his first title defence a year later getting knocked out in just under three minutes. (Cont)
10. Fedor Emelianenko vs Kevin Randleman . The first performance of Fedor on this list, Fedor in his prime is almost like a mythical being, someone that people argue never existed, his calm and stoic demenor is what made him so intimidating, look up a picture of Fedor Emelianenko and try telling people who don't watch MMA that this was once the baddest man on the planet and they wouldn't believe you due to his flabby man baby physique and disinterested looking face but the thing is, he really was. At Pride Critical Countdown 2004 Fedor fought former UFC World Heavyweight Champion and standout wrestler Kevin Randleman, right away Randleman takes him down then does one of the most amazing things in combat sports history where he throws Fedor in the air and drops him right on his head! The average fighter let alone man would of been out cold and possibly had broken there neck but Fedor? Meh it's no problem, less than 30 seconds later he reverses Randleman like it was nothing and taps him with a kimura! The fight only lasted 1 minute and 33 seconds and is still one of the best things you will ever see in MMA, this is definitely a must watch even if MMA isn't your thing. 9. Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou 1 . Stipe Miocic is the greatest UFC Heavyweight of all time, he's the only heavyweight in UFC to defend the belt three times. At UFC 220 Stipe faced his toughest test in Francis Ngannou who had been knocking out everyone who got in his way and violently (His knockout of Alistair Overeem is a must see) Ngannou was actually pretty green here compared to now as he heavily relied on his power and little else but it worked for him and made everyone believe Stipe was going to be another victim so much that Stipe was the underdog which made him feel highly disrespected. Francis came into the fight confident and somewhat cocky and Stipe came in with a chip on his shoulder ready to prove all the doubters wrong as from the first round Stipe was able to beat Ngannou on the feet and take him down, he also showed head movement like never before making Ngannou look silly at times, from rounds two to the end Stipe continued to do the same making Ngannou miss and outwrestling him showing a big hole in Ngannou's arsenal that people refused to think about prior the fight as they were starstruck by his power. Ngannou was absolutely exhausted and outclassed at the final bell while Stipe took some hard shots he showed indeed why he's the greatest UFC Heavyweight ever that night in a classic fight. 8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Mirko Cro Cop . At Pride Final Conflict 2003 Cro Cop and Nogueira battled it out for the interim Pride Heavyweight Championship, on paper Mirko was a nightmare matchup for Nogueira as he was the best striker in the heavyweight division at the time with his vast experience in Kickboxing as well as some phenomenal takedown defence which he showed in this fight. Nogueira was largely outclassed on the feet for the first ten minutes and unable to get several takedowns it looked like we were heading towards a Cro Cop victory as he landed at will on Big Nog, towards the end of the first round Cro Cop knocked him down with a head kick followed by a left cross, the round then ended which finally gave Nogueira some rest to get ready for round 2. Round 2 started and right away Nogueira finally gets the double leg takedown and full mount! Cro Cop looked completely lost on the ground as his two years of MMA was nothing compared to Nogueira years of BJJ experience and when Cro Cop tried to power out he got caught in an armbar giving Nogueira the dramatic come from behind win. This fight once again proved the greatness of Nogueira as he had come from behind previously against Bob Sapp and would later do it against Tim Sylvia for the Interim UFC World Heavyweight Championship too. 7. Francis Ngannou vs Stipe Miocic 2 . The most recent performance in this lost as not even a year has gone by since this fight happened at UFC 260. Since losing to Miocic at UFC 220 Ngannou would go on to lose to Derrick Lewis in one of the most boring fights of all time, some thought this was the end of Ngannou and that he was exposed but this lit a fire in him, after two defeats in a row Ngannou went on a four fight win streak defeating two former Champions and the longest fight going 1 minute and a 11 seconds long. Ngannou actually had shown anything different to the first fight as again in his wins he just stormed through them with his power while since there first fight Stipe had a three fight trilogy with Daniel Cormier getting knocked out in the first fight then winning the next two by knockout and a decision. Even after the first fight Ngannou entered the favourite and he proved why as Francis never looked better showing a much more calmer approach to fighting, switching stances several times and being able to stop Stipe's takedown attempt and take his back! One round gone and it seemed that the writing was on the wall that this version of Francis was not going to lose as early in the second round Ngannou proceeded to drop Stipe with a brutal left then as Stipe managed to get up and stop Ngannou in his tracks with a right he rushed at him only to get knocked on in brutal fashion with a short left hook. Ngannou proved that now with his added skills and more thinking man's approach that he was more dangerous than ever and as for Stipe? It was a great run but this fight proved it's now Ngannou's time. 6. Josh Barnett vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 1 . Josh Barnett is somewhat of a forgotten fighter in MMA but he's still one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. At Pride Final Conflict 2006 Barnett and Nogueira fought in the semi finals of heavyweight Grand Prix tournament and both delivered an amazing performance where they were so even all the way though. Barnett knocked down Nogueira and both went for submission attempts and were going at it on the ground at the pace of welterweights but it was Barnett who prevailed with a close split decision which could of gone either way, when people say things like "There's no losers in that fight" This is the kind of fight that quote is made for. I laugh when people think these guys wouldn't be able to cut it in the division these days.
5. Fedor Emelianenko vs Mirko Cro Cop . When these two fought at Pride Conflict 2005 these two were without a doubt the two best heavyweights in the world and both in their primes. Fedor was going on his legendary run and Cro Cop had beaten everybody he fought not named Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira back in 2003. People were split right down the middle on this one thinking Fedor could strike with Cro Cop but that exactly what Fedor did for the first five minutes of the fight, Fedor would stalk Cro Cop and make him back up constantly unlike we've ever seen anyone do before as it was completely uncharacteristic of Cro Cop at the time but Fedor's pressure was just too much mixed in with his takedowns. This was a special fight and another special performance by Fedor proving why he's the greatest heavyweight in MMA history. 4. Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 1 . This comes in at number 4 and it's not the final appearance of Fedor, this fight happened at 2003's Pride 25 where Nogueira was regarded as the best Heavyweight in the world and it's understandable why as the time he was 19-1-1 with the one loss being a highly controversial split decision loss to Dan Henderson in the Rings promotion. Little was known about Fedor at this point other than his two previous fights he had in Pride where he dominated Semmy Schilt and Heath Herring but he was 12-1 with that one loss being due to a doctor stoppage from an illegal elbow. Nogueira was the favourite heading in and that completely understandable but Fedor dominated Nogueira all the way though hitting him with hard shots and taking him down, people couldn't believe that Fedor was willing to go into Nogueira's guard but the always stoic Fedor didn't seem to be bothered by his BJJ and pounded Nog with some sickening flush shots to the face in his guard for most of the bout. When the bout was over there was little doubt about who was the best heavyweight in the world. 3. Cain Velasquez vs Junior Dos Santos 2 . At UFC 155 Cain Velasquez put on the second best performance ever by a UFC Heavyweight when he punished Dos Santos for five rounds in a rematch after Dos Santos knocked him out in their first bout. Cain took him down several times like no one has been able to do to Dos Santos before and beat his face into a bloody mess on the feet, the corner of JDS really should of stopped it as Cain easily got several 10-8 rounds and there were definitely moments where the fight could of been stopped by the referee. At no part did Dos Santos look like like he could of scored a victory, Cain's pressure and cardio here was at an all time high and this version of Cain could of arguably been the greatest heavyweight of all time if it wasn't for injuries. 2. Cain Velasquez vs Antonio Silva 1 . Coming off his first loss in the first fight with Junior Dos Santos it made Cain even more focused to get back the belt but in his way was Antonio Silva. At UFC 146 they clashed and it only took seven seconds for Cain to takedown Silva and begin to pound him badly, Silva was never in the fight and Cain split him open horribly with elbows to the forehead. This fight was an absolute blood bath and over in 1 round with Cain looking at his most dominant, believe me this is a must watch. 1. Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 3 . This fight is from 2004's Pride Shockwave event, Nogueira's third attempt at trying to beat Fedor just wasn't to be and The Last Emperor put on the best performance ever by a heavyweight in my opinion. Fedor's flawless takedowns/throws in this fight will make you jealous as to how he does them with little effort but in this fight compared to the first one where he fought a more grounded fight he forces Nogueira to fight him on the feet which is bad news for Big Nog. All Nogueira could do is take the punishment while trying his best to survive and go for the odd takedown as Fedor's striking and throws were just perfect this night. To many including me Nogueira is regarded as a top three heavyweight ever in MMA and has a case for being number 2 after Fedor due to his resume so this fight really shows why Fedor is just a level above everyone else and what makes him a special breed of a fighter/Martial Artist.
Honourable mentions: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Bob Sapp Cain Velasquez vs Brock Lesnar Mirko Cro Cop vs Alexander Emelianenko Mirko Cro Cop vs Heath Herring
